(Editor’s Note: In early October, a group of 50 EPC elders met in Kansas City for the first synod of the Westminster Churches of America (WCA). Bill Heming, senior pastor of Parkway Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, Wash., was elected as the first Stated Clerk. In this interview, Heming explains why it was necessary to leave the EPC and create a new denomination).
Plumb Line: Before we get started, can tell me about the name, the Westminster Churches of America? How did you come up with that?
Heming: As we moved toward becoming a denomination, we realized that our original name (Westminster Association of Churches) wasn’t quite right. We are not aiming at being an association of churches but a Presbyterian denomination. We are not primarily leaving something; we are planting a Presbyterian home where Scripture, the Confession, the Session, and the family can thrive together.
Plumb Line: Why do you feel it is necessary to leave the EPC and start a new denomination?
Heming: The EPC has been a spiritual home to many of us, and we are grateful for the ministry, friendships, and faithful brothers and sisters we have known there. Over the past several years, however, a number of us raised concerns about accountability and about the direction of the denomination. The General Assembly’s action on report of the Ad-Interim Committee on Same-Sex Attraction brought those concerns to a head. After much prayer and counsel, we came to the conviction that we could not remain with integrity and so we chose to build something faithful together. That led to the question of where to go. We did not want our churches to scatter to the winds. The Lord has forged real bonds of brotherhood among us over these years, and we want to steward them. Putting all of that together, we became convinced that a new denomination was the right path.
Plumb Line: How did the WCA get started?
Heming: I wrote up a proposal to help churches in the Pacific Northwest that were considering leaving the EPC to stay together. Men from other parts of the EPC approached me, and we soon found that we were of one mind and should go forward together. The Pacific Northwest churches were joined by the Berean Network. Other churches that had stood together on the Red Line overture joined as well.
Plumb Line: What steps have already been taken to establish the WCA as a denomination?
Heming: We have been incorporated in the state of North Carolina and will file for our 501(c)(3) designation following our convening synod. We also commissioned a polity-writing team which has drafted our Book of Government and Book of Discipline; a Book of Worship will follow at a subsequent synod.
Plumb Line: How many churches are involved at this point?
Heming: We had 23 churches represented at our convening synod in various stages of dismissal, including at least one independent church coming to us after being dismissed from the PCA. Around 40 churches have expressed interest so far, although the number fluctuates. Some churches were waiting to see what happened at our convening synod and others are still discerning their next steps. We have churches from all over the country, with our largest numbers in the Northeast, Southeast, and the Pacific Northwest.
Plumb Line: What is distinctive about the WCA that is not found in other denominations?
Heming: Our distinguishing marks are concentrated around three concerns. First, an engaged Presbyterian polity. We want a polity that is dominated neither by teaching elders nor by large churches, but in which ruling and teaching elders genuinely share the rule of Christ’s church. To that end we are moving toward rules of parity closer to a senatorial approach, with each congregation, regardless of size, sending the same number of ruling elder commissioners.
Second, a limited national court that serves the local church. We purposefully chose to call our national court a synod rather than a General Assembly. Its duties are deliberately limited, and our proposed Book of Order commits us to maintain only the minimum structure necessary to carry them out. We have term limits for synod and Presbytery officers and carefully define their duties and authority. Between meetings of synod, leadership will rest with what we are calling the Council of Clerks, made up of the clerks of the Synod and the Presbyteries. Our hope is that this keeps the work of the synod close to the presbyteries and through them, to the congregations. Rather than relying on nominating committees in the upper courts, we will rely on endorsements from Sessions for service at the presbytery and from presbyteries for service at Synod.
Finally, enduring commitments. We will be marked by stated principles that cannot be amended, removed, or contradicted. These enduring commitments include the supremacy of Scripture; our commitment to the historic Reformed faith as summarized in the Westminster Standards; confident gospel proclamation; our model of engaged Presbyterian polity; our focus on the mission of the particular church; a committed complementarianism that shapes not only the church leadership but the home and our life in the world; and the Biblical sexual ethic, together with clear standards for ordination. On that last point, we have adopted in essence the so-called Red Line Overture. These are not merely fences; they are a trellis meant to protect what must not drift, so that our churches can grow with confidence for generations.
Plumb Line: Where does the WCA stand on the ordination of women?
Heming: The WCA holds that the offices of teaching elder and ruling elder are reserved for qualified men. We also recognize that some women have served their congregations faithfully as ruling elders and may still be serving when their congregation enters the WCA. Women serving on a Session when their congregation enters the WCA will be able to finish out their current term, though they will not serve as commissioners to the upper courts. We treat the ordination of deacons as a decision of the Session. Whether to have deacons, who is Biblically qualified to serve, whether deacons are ordained or commissioned, and how the deacons are organized are all left to the Session.
But our complementarianism is far more than a list of what is restricted. We believe God’s design of humanity as male and female is good, and that men and women are equal in dignity and worth, yet distinct and complementary in their callings. In marriage, a husband is called to lead by laying down his life for his wife as Christ loved the church, and a wife is called to the essential and beautiful role of helper, the same word Scripture uses of God Himself as the helper of His people. Fathers and mothers each have distinct, dignifying callings, and the home is meant to be a primary school of faith, where children learn the love and discipline of the Lord. In the church, qualified men serve as elders who shepherd the flock, while the indispensable gifts of women strengthen the whole body in countless ways, without collapsing the distinction of the offices. And in a confused age, we believe this ordered love — lived out in our homes and congregations — is itself a public witness to the goodness of God’s design. Our enduring commitment on complementarianism is not only a boundary; it is meant for obedience and joy in the family, the church, and the world.
Plumb Line: Where does the WCA stand on the expression of charismatic gifts?
Heming: We treat the expression of charismatic gifts in much the same way the EPC does. We consider it an area of charity, while being clear that no such expression can add to or subtract from the Scriptures or the Westminster Standards.
Plumb Line: Over the past 40 years, homosexuality has been a wedge issue that has destroyed and divided many Protestant denominations. How will you guard against this happening in the WCA?
Heming: Our stance on Biblical sexuality and ordination is part of our enduring commitments, which, as I mentioned, cannot be amended, removed, or contradicted. We joyfully affirm God’s good design for humanity as male and female, and we uphold the Biblical sexual ethic of chastity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between one man and one woman.
We also make a clear distinction that Scripture itself makes. All of us are sinners, and every Christian battles sinful desires. But in Romans 1:26-27, Scripture describes some desires as contrary to nature, including but not limited to homosexual desire. Scripture teaches that these are distinct categories, and we hold that people who experience, identify with, or persist in such unnatural desires are not qualified for ordination to church office. We want to say this both firmly and pastorally. This is a standard for those who would hold office, not a statement about who is welcome to hear the gospel, worship with us, or receive the care of Christ’s church. Every one of our congregations is full of people who struggle with sin, and we want those who wrestle with these desires to find in our churches the truth, the grace, and the patient shepherding of Christ. Our clarity on the ordination line and our compassion for those who struggle belong together.
Plumb Line: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about the WCA? What are your thoughts and prayers as you launch this new venture?
Heming: We are much more excited about looking forward to what God will do through the WCA than about looking back. We have learned valuable lessons along the way, but our vision is set on what God is calling us to be and to do: churches anchored in Scripture and the Westminster Standards, Sessions free to shepherd their people, families strengthened as schools of faith, and congregations gathered for worship and sent out with confidence for evangelism and mission.
Finally, we are eager that churches being dismissed from the EPC will have a real, constitutional denomination ready to receive them. Many of us have been working long hours to make that happen for our congregations, and we are excited to see it come to fruition. Our prayer is that the Lord would use the WCA to plant and strengthen faithful churches for generations to come, and that Christ would have preeminence in everything.
Posted October 23, 2026
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